Alleged Whitpain bank robber waives charges

WHITPAIN — The Blue Bell man accused of holding up the TD Bank at 1799 Swede Road in Whitpain Aug. 2 waived his preliminary hearing Aug. 13 before District Judge Robert Sobeck, resulting in all charges against him being held over for trial in county court.

Charles Decembrino, 43, of the 1500 block of Pulaski Drive, was arrested Aug. 3 and charged with multiple counts of robbery, receiving stolen property, theft, unlawful restraint and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the bank robbery.

Decembrino allegedly entered the TD Bank around 1:50 p.m., handed a female teller a demand note and implied he had a gun, according to an earlier report from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. After obtaining approximately $6,500, he fled on foot.

After surveillance images of the robber from the bank were distributed to local media, Whitpain police were contacted Aug. 3 by a confidential informant who identified Decembrino as the robber.

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Armed with a search warrant, police found a black trash bag in the garage of Decembrino’s home containing a black satchel, a red Phillies baseball cap, a pair of white plastic type gloves, a black men’s suit jacket, blue jeans, a white men’s dress shirt and black men’s sneakers, which matched the clothing of the man who held up the bank, the DA’s office said. In addition, a large sum of money was found inside a Folgers coffee can on the kitchen counter.

After waiving the charges against him at his preliminary hearing, Decembrino was returned to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on bail still set at $100,000. A formal arraignment at Montgomery County Court was scheduled for Sept. 25.